Santa came early to the Kenan Football Center, and he dropped a lump of coal under the tree.

First, the Tar Heels lost out on two recruits, one of which was ranked among the top linebacker prospects in the nation. He is exactly the kind of athlete that could have helped immensely, and he plays a position of need. Instead of him making tackles for the Tar Heels, North Carolina will have to play against him; he chose Miami.

The other recruit was a wide receiver from Syracuse, N.Y., who had said all along he had UNC tops on his list. Instead he announced for Syracuse.

Coach Butch Davis' honesty probably cost Carolina that one. UNC viewed the young man as a defensive back, and he has his heart set on playing wide receiver.

In the long run, a coach and his program will benefit from being honest with kids. Dean Smith set a precedent for this kind of recruiting long ago, and when he retired he was the winningest coach in the history of college basketball, so being truthful did not hurt him.

Nonetheless, failing to land recruits at this stage of the game isn't enough to spoil Christmas. Plenty of time remains between now and signing day in February. Having three players sexually assaulted by a couple of women and a man, however, is another (ugly) story.

The man had a knife, and certainly the health and safety of the kids is foremost. But forget whatever facts may come from this episode. The atmosphere around the event is awful enough.

Let's face it. Three big, strong football players getting bound, duct-taped and beaten by a couple of women is nothing short of bizarre.

No matter what anyone says, those guys are going to catch heck from their teammates and other people.

Their names will become public, too. UNC says privacy laws dictate that the school should withhold their names, but they may already be revealed by the time this edition of the newspaper is published.

There is no way this kind of thing can remain a secret. No freaking way.

This will make for one merry holiday for Wolfpack fans, particularly when it's mixed in with this past season's victory against UNC in football.

As far as that goes, those who root for East Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest will be laughing their way through the holiday as well.

Once again, this column is not intended to mock these young men or the ordeal they underwent. None of us would welcome a knife at our throats. It's just that the reality is the headlines read two women sexually assaulted three football players. That is a gift-wrapped present for every mocking fan in the state, and throughout much of the ACC region. Virginia, Maryland and Clemson fans will do their share of giggling this holiday season.

As for the young men involved, if you are not a fan of an opposing team, you have to feel sympathy for them. Forget how this happened or who was involved. This is the kind of public humiliation that filters through many people's nightmares at one point or another, awakening us in a sweat.

Life will go on for the football program and these players. Davis and his staff will sign a strong recruiting class, no matter how much the fans that follow this sort of thing are panicking at the moment.

Davis and his assistants are just too good at recruiting not to bring in outstanding players. We saw that a year ago. And no matter what some silly people said after Davis got a raise and an extension to his contract, this program is on the rise, and it is headed that way in a manner that should please Tar Heel fans.

The players truly admire and respect this coaching staff. Their enthusiasm for the coaches is genuine. The number of kids who express tremendous excitement just cannot be faking it.

This story about the assault, though, well, that is just too weird. For this week, the Tar Heels are taking their lumps -- lumps of coal on what should otherwise have been a happy holiday for Carolina football.